Washington (CNN) - The congressional impasse over extending the payroll tax cut became a showdown Tuesday between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.

After the Republican-controlled House passed a measure calling for more negotiations, Boehner made public a letter to Obama that urged him to order the Senate back from its holiday break to take part in further talks.

(CNN) – When Newt Gingrich’s campaign announced Tuesday morning that it had won an endorsement from Don Wildmon, president of the evangelical American Family Association, it seemed like one more bit of evidence that the former House speaker has become the unlikely favorite of conservative Christian activists.

But a few hours later, Bob Vander Plaats, president of an influential Iowa evangelical organization called the Family Leader, announced he was throwing his personal support behind Rick Santorum.

DeWitt, Iowa (CNN) - Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry has been calling himself a Washington outsider for weeks now, and he vowed Tuesday to hammer that message as his closing argument before Iowans head to the Republican caucuses on January 3.

The strategy, he said, offers a clear contrast between himself and two of the frontrunners in the Iowa race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.FULL POST

(CNN) - Some relatively good numbers for President Obama are in our new CNN/ORC International Poll. His job approval number is now 49%, up from 44% in November. That’s not fabulous but it’s certainly moving in the right direction for him.

The overwhelming majority of the American public likes him, as well. In the new poll, 76% say they approve of him as a person; only 19% disapprove.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's numbers are on the rise in two important indicators of his reelection chances, according to a new national survey.

A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday indicates the president's margins have increased against five possible Republican presidential challengers in hypothetical general election matchups and that Obama's approval rating is up five points since mid-November.

(CNN) – Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a new video Tuesday, targeting the two Republican presidential frontrunners as Washington insiders.

The 30-second ad, not yet trafficked to television stations but released on the campaign's website, linked former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with "Wall Street" and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with "K Street."FULL POST

Urbandale, Iowa (CNN) – In explaining their Tuesday endorsement of Rick Santorum, two top Iowa evangelical leaders essentially said they hope other Republican presidential hopefuls will end their campaigns - and coalesce around one candidate.

"What I would say instead of 'drop out' is to say, 'Why can't the top three or so pro-family candidates come together and figure out who has the talents for president, who has the talents for other roles within the federal government whether its attorney general, secretary of state, vice president, health and human services secretary?" said Chuck Hurley, vice president of the Iowa-based Christian group, The Family Leader.FULL POST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - If Congress fails to pass an extension of the payroll tax holiday, it would put a serious dent into economic growth in 2012 and could even help tip the U.S. back into a recession, according to economists.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney on Tuesday said that gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, could be about 0.4 percentage points lower in the first quarter if Congress doesn't extend the measure which lowered payroll taxes this past year.